The scream tore through the pre-dawn silence like a knife.
Rohan was on his feet before he consciously decided to move. His heart hammered against his ribs. Ananya stirred in the bed, her eyes fluttering open, confusion clouding her face.
"What—" she started.
"Stay here," Rohan said, his voice sharp but controlled. "Do not leave this room. Do not open the door for anyone except me. Do you understand?"
Ananya's dark eyes widened, but she nodded. For once, there was no mask, no cold calculation. Just a frightened child.
Rohan crossed to the door in three quick strides and slipped out into the corridor, pulling it closed behind him. The system pulsed urgently at the edge of his vision.
---
[INTRUDER UPDATE]
[LOCATION: EAST WING, SECOND FLOOR - NOW 45 METERS]
[SECOND HEAT SIGNATURE DETECTED - POSSIBLE ACCOMPLICE]
[CHILD'S SCREAM ORIGIN: SAME LOCATION]
[THREAT LEVEL: ELEVATED]
[RECOMMENDATION: EXTREME CAUTION]
---
The east wing. Rohan had only glimpsed it briefly during his exploration—a older section of the manor, mostly unused, filled with dust sheets and forgotten furniture. If someone was hiding there, they could remain undiscovered for days.
He moved through the darkened corridors, keeping close to the walls. His newly unlocked Heightened Perception sharpened every shadow, every sound. The faint creak of floorboards under his feet. The distant ticking of a clock somewhere. The rapid beating of his own heart.
Thirty meters.
Another scream, cut off abruptly. This one was definitely a child—young, terrified. But not Ananya. Someone else.
Rohan's mind raced. Were there other children in the manor? He hadn't seen any. Hadn't heard any mentioned. The Hawthorns had only one daughter, as far as he knew.
Twenty meters.
He reached the entrance to the east wing—a heavy oak door that stood slightly ajar. Beyond it, darkness. The Aether-powered lights in this section had been deactivated long ago.
Rohan pushed the door open slowly, wincing at the faint creak of its hinges. He stepped through into a corridor that smelled of dust and age and something else. Something metallic.
Blood.
The system flared.
---
[ALERT: BLOOD DETECTED]
[SOURCE: APPROXIMATELY 10 METERS AHEAD]
[HUMAN ORIGIN - FRESH]
[WARNING: PROCEED WITH MAXIMUM CAUTION]
---
Rohan forced himself to move forward, every instinct screaming at him to turn back, to grab Ananya and flee. But he couldn't. Not until he knew what was happening. Not until he understood the threat.
Ten meters became five. Five became three.
He found the source of the blood.
A young servant girl—maybe fourteen, fifteen—lay crumpled against the wall. Her uniform was torn. A deep gash on her forehead still oozed blood. But she was breathing. Unconscious, but alive.
Rohan crouched beside her, checking her pulse. Strong. Steady. She would survive.
The system pulsed again.
---
[INTRUDER UPDATE]
[TWO INDIVIDUALS NOW 20 METERS AHEAD]
[MOVING TOWARD REAR EXIT]
[ONE ADULT MALE - LIKELY THE PRIMARY INTRUDER]
[ONE CHILD FEMALE - APPROXIMATELY 8-9 YEARS OLD]
[CHILD IS BEING FORCIBLY MOVED - KIDNAPPING IN PROGRESS]
---
Kidnapping. Someone was stealing a child from the manor.
Rohan's first instinct was to pursue. His second was stronger—caution. He had no combat training beyond the locked Basic Combat Proficiency. He had no weapon. Charging after two unknown intruders in a dark corridor was suicide.
But he couldn't just let them take a child.
He moved forward, keeping to the shadows, using every scrap of his Heightened Perception to avoid making noise. The corridor opened into a larger room—what might have been a ballroom once, now filled with covered furniture and shadows.
And there, near a shattered window that opened onto the garden, he saw them.
A man—tall, broad-shouldered, dressed in dark clothing with his face hidden by a hood. He held a small girl against his side, one hand clamped over her mouth. The girl struggled weakly, her eyes wide with terror.
Rohan recognized her. He had seen her once, briefly—one of the kitchen servants' daughters, allowed to live in the manor with her mother.
The man was trying to maneuver her through the broken window, cursing under his breath as her struggles made it difficult.
Rohan had seconds to decide. Intervene and risk everything. Or stay hidden and let her be taken.
The system presented options.
---
[CRITICAL JUNCTURE]
[OPTION 1: INTERVENE DIRECTLY - HIGH RISK, UNKNOWN OUTCOME]
[OPTION 2: CREATE DISTRACTION - MEDIUM RISK, MAY ALLOW CHILD TO ESCAPE]
[OPTION 3: RETREAT AND ALERT AUTHORITIES - LOW RISK, BUT CHILD MAY BE GONE]
[OPTION 4: TRACK INTRUDER - MEDIUM RISK, GATHER INFORMATION FOR RESCUE]
[CHOOSE WISELY. LIVES HANG IN THE BALANCE.]
---
Rohan's mind raced through the options. Direct intervention was suicide. Retreat meant the girl was as good as gone. Tracking might work, but he could lose them in the dark.
Distraction. It was the only choice.
He looked around desperately. A heavy vase sat on a nearby table. He picked it up, hefted it, and threw it as hard as he could toward the far end of the room.
It shattered against the wall with a tremendous crash.
The intruder spun, his head whipping toward the sound. His grip on the girl loosened for just a fraction of a second.
It was enough.
The girl bit down on his hand—hard. He yelled, releasing her. She dropped to the floor and scrambled away, disappearing behind a covered piano.
The intruder cursed violently, looking between the girl's hiding spot and the broken window. He had seconds to decide—go after her and risk being caught, or flee.
He fled.
Rohan watched him disappear through the window, dropping into the garden below. Footsteps retreated into the darkness.
The system pulsed.
---
[INTRUDER ESCAPED]
[CHILD SAFE - CURRENTLY HIDING]
[VIGILANCE POINTS EARNED: 100]
[GUARDIAN'S PATH PROGRESS: 125/1000]
[NEW ABILITY AVAILABLE: TACTICAL AWARENESS (LEVEL 1)]
[UNLOCK? YES/NO]
---
Rohan selected yes. A cool clarity settled over his mind—not removing fear, but organizing it. He could see the room differently now, could trace the paths the intruder had taken, the girl's hiding spot, the exits and entrances. It was like a map had been drawn in his mind.
He moved to where the girl was hiding. She flinched when he approached, pressing herself deeper into the shadows.
"It's okay," he said softly, keeping his voice calm. "I'm Elias. I work here. You're safe now. He's gone."
Slowly, fearfully, the girl peered out at him. Her face was streaked with tears, her lip trembling.
"Is he... is he really gone?"
"Yes. I saw him leave. You're safe."
The girl crawled out from behind the piano and threw herself at Rohan, sobbing into his chest. He held her, letting her cry, murmuring soothing words.
The system pulsed.
---
[ABILITY ACTIVATED: SOOTHING PRESENCE]
[CHILD'S STRESS LEVELS DECREASING]
[HEART POINTS EARNED: 25]
---
Minutes passed. The girl's sobs gradually quieted to hiccups. Finally, she pulled back, wiping her eyes with her sleeve.
"My mother," she whispered. "Is she okay? He came into our room. He hit her. He hit my mother."
Rohan's blood ran cold. "Where is your room?"
"Downstairs. Near the kitchen."
"Stay here," Rohan said. "Hide behind the piano again. Don't come out until I come back for you. Do you understand?"
She nodded, scrambling back into her hiding spot.
Rohan ran.
---
The kitchen quarters were in chaos.
Servants were rushing about, some crying, others shouting. In the center of it all, a woman lay on the floor—the girl's mother, still unconscious, a servant pressing a cloth to her bleeding head.
Mrs. Whitmore stood over her, her face pale but composed, issuing orders.
"Someone fetch the physician. Someone else alert Lord Hawthorn. And someone find out where the child is—"
"She's safe," Rohan said, stepping forward.
Every eye turned to him.
"She's hiding in the east wing ballroom. Behind the piano. She's scared, but she's not hurt."
Mrs. Whitmore stared at him for a long moment. "How do you know this?"
Rohan met her gaze steadily. "I heard the scream. I went to investigate. I saw the intruder escaping through a window. The girl bit him and hid. He ran."
"You went to investigate alone?" Mrs. Whitmore's voice was sharp. "Without alerting anyone? Without weapons? That was foolish."
"Maybe." Rohan didn't flinch. "But the girl is safe because of it."
Another long stare. Then Mrs. Whitmore nodded curtly. "We'll discuss your foolishness later. For now, show my people where the child is hiding."
Two servants followed Rohan back to the east wing. The girl was still behind the piano, trembling but alive. When she saw them, she burst into fresh tears.
"She's asking for her mother," one of the servants said. "We need to get her downstairs."
Rohan watched them go, then made his way back to his room. His heart was still racing, his mind still processing everything that had happened.
He opened the door to find Ananya exactly where he'd left her—sitting in the bed, wrapped in the quilt, her dark eyes fixed on the door. When she saw him, something in her expression shifted. Relief? Fear? He couldn't tell.
"What happened?" she asked. Her voice was steady, but her hands gripped the quilt tightly.
Rohan crossed to the chair by the window and sat down heavily. He was suddenly exhausted.
"Someone broke in. They tried to take one of the servant's daughters. I stopped them."
Ananya's eyes widened. "You stopped them? How?"
"I threw a vase. Made a noise. Scared them off." He didn't mention the blood, the unconscious mother, the terror in the girl's eyes. Ananya was six. She didn't need those details.
But Ananya was not an ordinary six-year-old.
"The girl," she said quietly. "Is she okay?"
"She's scared, but she's not hurt. Her mother was hurt, though. Hit on the head."
Ananya was silent for a long moment. Then, so softly he almost missed it: "That could have been me."
Rohan looked at her sharply. "What do you mean?"
"The intruder. He came for a child. Any child. If he had come to my room instead..." She trailed off.
The thought hit Rohan like a physical blow. If the intruder had chosen the main wing instead of the servants' quarters. If Ananya had been alone in her nursery instead of safe in his room.
He crossed to the bed and crouched down in front of her.
"Listen to me," he said, his voice intense. "I will not let anyone hurt you. Do you understand? No matter what. I will protect you."
Ananya stared at him. For once, there was no mask, no cold calculation. Just a child, looking at someone who had promised to stay.
"You mean that," she whispered.
"I mean that."
She nodded slowly. Then, unexpectedly, she reached out and grabbed his hand. Her small fingers were cold, trembling slightly.
"I believe you," she said.
The system pulsed.
---
[CRITICAL MILESTONE ACHIEVED]
[WARD HAS OFFERED VOLUNTARY PHYSICAL CONTACT - FIRST TIME ON RECORD]
[TRUST INCREASE: +15%]
[CURRENT TRUST LEVEL: 36.5%]
[HEART POINTS BONUS: 150]
[NEW ABILITY UNLOCKED: EMPATHIC INSIGHT (LEVEL 1)]
[ABILITY DESCRIPTION: HOST CAN SENSE GENERAL EMOTIONAL STATES OF OTHERS WITH FOCUS]
---
Rohan squeezed her hand gently. "We should try to get some more sleep. It's still early."
Ananya nodded but didn't release his hand. "Stay here. In the chair. Where I can see you."
"I will."
She lay back down, still holding his hand. Within minutes, her breathing slowed, her grip relaxed. She was asleep.
Rohan stayed where he was, watching over her, until the sun fully rose and the manor stirred to life.
---
The day that followed was chaos.
Guards were summoned. The city watch was called. Statements were taken. The intruder's escape route was traced—he had fled through the garden, over the wall, and disappeared into the city beyond. The unconscious servant was taken to a physician. The girl was reunited with her mother, both of them shaken but alive.
Through it all, Rohan stayed close to Ananya. He accompanied her to breakfast, to her lessons (Tutor Aldric was unusually subdued), to the garden. He didn't let her out of his sight.
Mrs. Whitmore cornered him in the afternoon.
"The mistress wants to see you."
Rohan's heart sank. He had expected this. An inquiry. Perhaps a dismissal for acting without authorization.
But when he entered the drawing room, Lady Hawthorn's expression was not angry. It was... something else. Gratitude, perhaps.
"My husband and I have been told what you did," she said quietly. "You saved that child."
"I did what anyone would have done, my lady."
"No." Lord Hawthorn's voice was firm. He stood by the fireplace, his arms crossed. "Most of our servants hid. Screamed. Ran for help. You ran toward the danger. You acted. That child is alive because of you."
Rohan didn't know what to say.
"We're grateful," Lady Hawthorn continued. "And we've decided... that is, we wanted to ask you..."
She trailed off, looking at her husband.
Lord Hawthorn stepped forward. "We want you to stay. Permanently. Not as a temporary caretaker, but as part of this household. An official position. With proper wages, proper quarters, proper authority."
Rohan blinked. "I... I don't know what to say."
"Say you'll stay." The voice came from the doorway.
Ananya stood there, her dark eyes fixed on him. She had followed him. Of course she had.
"Ananya," Lady Hawthorn said softly, "you should be in the nursery."
"I wanted to hear." Ananya didn't look away from Rohan. "He said he would stay. I wanted to hear him say it again."
Lord Hawthorn looked at Rohan, one eyebrow raised. "Well?"
Rohan looked at Ananya. At the hope in her eyes—hope she was trying desperately to hide, but that his new Empathic Insight could feel clearly.
"I'll stay," he said. "For as long as she needs me."
Ananya's mask slipped for just a moment. A genuine smile—brief, fragile, beautiful—crossed her face. Then it was gone, replaced by her usual blankness.
But Rohan had seen it. And he knew, in that moment, that he had made the right choice.
---
That night, long after the manor had settled into uneasy quiet, Rohan sat by his window, looking out at the garden. The two moons were bright overhead, their light silver and cold.
The system pulsed.
---
[END OF DAY SUMMARY]
[HEART POINTS EARNED TODAY: 175]
[VIGILANCE POINTS EARNED TODAY: 150]
[TOTAL HEART POINTS: 265]
[TOTAL VIGILANCE POINTS: 175]
[WARD TRUST LEVEL: 36.5%]
[CURRENT ABILITIES: HEIGHTENED PERCEPTION, SOOTHING PRESENCE, EMPATHIC INSIGHT, TACTICAL AWARENESS]
[NOTE: SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS ACHIEVED]
[WARNING: INTRUDER INCIDENT RAISES NEW QUESTIONS]
[WHO SENT THE INTRUDER?]
[WAS THE TARGET SPECIFIC?]
[IS THE WARD IN DANGER?]
---
Rohan stared at the questions. He had been so focused on protecting Ananya in the moment that he hadn't considered the bigger picture. An intruder, targeting a specific child in a specific manor. That wasn't random. That was planned.
And if they had come for one child, they might come for another.
A soft knock on his door made him turn.
Ananya stood there, wrapped in her blanket, her dark eyes solemn.
"Couldn't sleep?" Rohan asked.
She shook her head. "Keep having dreams. About the intruder. About..." She hesitated. "About you leaving."
Rohan gestured to the chair by the window. "I'm not going anywhere. Sit. Watch the stars."
She climbed into the chair, pulling her knees up. Rohan sat on the edge of the bed, watching her watch the sky.
Minutes passed. Her breathing slowed. Her eyes grew heavy.
But just before sleep took her, she whispered something so softly Rohan barely caught it.
"They'll come back, won't they?"
Rohan's blood ran cold. She was six. How did she understand so much?
"I won't let them hurt you," he said quietly.
Ananya didn't respond. She was already asleep.
Rohan looked out at the garden, at the shadows between the trees, at the wall where the intruder had escaped.
The system pulsed one final time.
---
[CRITICAL ALERT]
[INTRUDER INCIDENT REQUIRES FURTHER INVESTIGATION]
[WARD MAY BE TARGET OF FUTURE ATTEMPTS]
[NEW LONG-TERM OBJECTIVE ADDED: UNCOVER THE TRUTH]
[WHO ORDERED THE KIDNAPPING?]
[WHY WAS THIS CHILD TARGETED?]
[AND WHAT CONNECTION DOES THIS HAVE TO THE WARD'S FUTURE?]
[INVESTIGATION RECOMMENDED - PROCEED WITH EXTREME CAUTION]
---
Rohan looked at the sleeping child, then out at the darkness beyond the window.
Somewhere out there, someone had tried to steal a child from this manor. Someone had planned it, executed it, and nearly succeeded.
And until he knew who and why, no one was safe.
Not the servant's daughter.
And not Ananya.
---
[CHAPTER 3 END]
[WHO SENT THE INTRUDER?]
[WHY WAS THE SERVANT'S DAUGHTER TARGETED?]
[AND WHAT DANGER STILL LURKS IN THE SHADOWS?]
[FIND OUT IN CHAPTER 4: THE WEIGHT OF SUSPICION]